A lightweight, bare-metal-like system containerization and supervisor utility written in pure C.
vzgot is a modern, lightweight system container engine built directly on upstream Linux kernel technologies. Designed for persistent, full-OS environments, it combines 15+ years of operational container experience with state-of-the-art primitives like cgroup v2, native network namespaces, and strict AppArmor security confinement.
Executed in zero-dependency, high-performance C, vzgot bridges the gap between historical system container reliability and modern Linux kernel capabilities.
-
System Containers vs. Application Containers: Unlike runtimes designed strictly for single-process microservices,
vzgotboots a complete, independent OS userland. It handles standard system initialization (Systemd, SysVinit, OpenRC) flawlessly. -
Full Root Independence: Inside the container, users act as true
root. They can manage their environment, services, and local configurations in complete autonomy, just like on a dedicated physical server. -
15+ Years of Production-Proven Maturity: Refined and operated continuously in production environments since 2009,
vzgotis strictly engineered for 24/7 non-stop operations. -
Zero Runtime Bloat: Written in clean C with minimal local shell scripts. No heavy background daemons, no complex storage layers, and no systemd dependencies required on the host.
The true power of vzgot lies in its precise cgroup orchestration. It ensures that heavy neighbor workloads never compromise critical host operations or other environments.
Real-World Proof of Concept: There is a distinct technical satisfaction in watching three separate containers violently compiling massive software suites (such as a Beyond Linux From Scratch project) over multiple iterative loops. Even with the cluster driving a peak system load of 160 on a 28-core processor, a developer can seamlessly work inside a fourth container without experiencing a single millisecond of noticeable input lag or latency.
-
Hardware-Like Isolation: A container is functionally indistinguishable from physical hardware. It possesses all standard server attributes (runs its own
iptables, databases, cron jobs, etc.). -
Strict Namespace Control: Containers are tightly constrained and cannot interfere with host hardware or other containers by default.
-
Selective Hardware Passthrough: When required, the host sysadmin can explicitly grant a container access to specific physical devices.
-
Predictable Networking: Supports standard Linux network architectures, allowing containers to be attached to Layer 2 (Bridge) or Layer 3 (Routed) configurations.
The shell script component of vzgot is specifically designed to let you fine-tune and customize the deployment of OS templates inside your containers.
We highly encourage community contributions! If you create or adapt a boot/setup script for a specific layout, please submit your vzgot.fboot.my_very_own_os script. We will gladly integrate it into the official release to continuously expand vzgot's ecosystem and adaptability.
For deep dives into specific topics, please refer to our dedicated sub-documentation guides: